


(un)spoken I love yous

by neoncore



Category: Naruto
Genre: 5+1 Things, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Kinda?, M/M, Mutual Pining, probably not, will i ever learn how to properly tag fics?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:28:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28030188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neoncore/pseuds/neoncore
Summary: Kakashi always believed in showing love through actions.True, he wasn’t a particularly affectionate man, but he believed that if a person truly loves you, they’d do just about anything for you.Besides, he heard the words fall far too often from the mouths of people who let him down to believe them.But with Naruto, it was different.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 5
Kudos: 137





	(un)spoken I love yous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Asukan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asukan/gifts).



> Hi! This is my first work for this ship and this fandom, and I've fallen in love with these boys.  
> Also, I haven't finished Shippuden yet, so I'm sorry for any errors and inconsistencies from the original plot, I tried my best to write it without having any spoilers haha  
> I hope you enjoy <3

Kakashi always believed in showing love through actions. 

True, he wasn’t a particularly affectionate man, but he believed that if a person truly loves you, they’d do just about anything for you.

Besides, he heard the words fall far too often from the mouths of people who let him down to believe them. 

But with Naruto, it was different. 

The first time the blonde had said it, it was in the heat of the moment. He had just been signed up for the chuunin exams, and he was excited, loudly screaming an ‘I love you’ while tackling his sensei in a hug.

Kakashi was glad for the mask that covered his mouth, then, as it concealed the tiniest, saddest smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. It’s been a long time since he’s heard these words, especially directed at him. 

_ You’ll stop saying this when you’re older, _ he thinks.  _ You’ll stop meaning it, even if you do now.  _

Still, he couldn't ignore the strange gleam in Naruto’s eyes. A gleam that was never there when he looked at anyone else. Something like admiration. Something like love.

He looked away. The admiration would turn into disappointment anyway.

~

The second time Naruto said it, it was unspoken. Kakashi was going somewhere, he couldn’t remember where, and found the boy crying in his lonely apartment the night Sasuke left. All he could do was hold the boy close as sobs shook his small frame. 

“Thank you, Kakashi-sensei, for everything,” said Naruto.  _ I love you _ , the breeze seemed to whisper as the boy looked up to him, the gleam that was there all this time ago still shining bright at him.  _ I was only half right _ , Kakashi mused as the boy wept into his chest.  _ He stopped saying it but still means it _ . There was a flutter in his chest, a small spark coming to life in his cold and broken soul. The older man left only when he made sure Naruto was sound asleep, with a small smile curving his features. 

~

Normally, Kakashi would be relieved that a very loud and annoying person was gone from his life, even if for just two years; he always appreciated peace and quiet. But as the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fond. The time without being able to sense, or more likely hear, the boy’s overwhelming (but oh, so comforting) presence in the village grew more and more torturous with each day. And that spark that had come to life on the night of Sasuke’s departure has now morphed into a flame. 

But then, Naruto came back, and it happened again.

The third time he said it was through a gift. As Kakashi stared at the yet to be released part of the Icha Icha series, he heard Naruto mutter, 

“I got you a gift I thought you might like. I had to rush the Perverted Sage to finish it before we came back.”

Kakashi smiled, resisting the urge to pull the boy into his arms. Something tightened in his chest at that.

“Thank you, Naruto,” was all that left his mouth, and a dusty pink settled over the boy's cheeks.

Kakashi chuckled at the sight, silently praying for the flame to stop growing.

~

His prayers were not answered. Moreover, the gods seemed to mock him, and the flame had now turned into a fire, burning bright and steady in his heart, warming his soul whenever he looked at the golden ray of sunshine that was his student.

He didn’t dare to name it. He knew exactly what it was. But he didn’t dare to allow himself another false hope. 

But there was a fourth time - in a broken plea. It was the night after Jiraiya-sama died, and Naruto was once again alone in his room, with silent tears rolling down his cheeks as he hesitantly opened the door for Kakashi. They sat on his bed, in a somewhat comfortable albeit a bit strained silence, soothed by each other’s company. The moonlight was pouring into the room, bathing it in a cool glow, the gloom looking wrong in contrast to Naruto’s sunshine-like aura. As the golden boy clung to him like a lifeline, hands curled into fists around the fabric of his jacket, he heard a weak mumble. 

“Please don’t be like Jiraiya,” the unusually tiny voice said. “Please don’t leave me.”

The sobs that began shaking his small figure seemed to choke out an ‘I love you’ as Kakashi whispered,

“I don’t intend to”.

~

The redness was unbearable. 

Everything felt like a threat in its glow, the slightest movement seemed to set off an alarm. The battlefield was empty, with no enemies in sight, but it still felt like he was in the middle of a war. 

But then, Naruto said it for the fifth time, and it was through a gesture. In the rubble and debris around them, with blood still drying up on the wasteland and the memory of the Grim Reaper breathing down their necks still fresh in their minds, the tiniest, saddest smile flashed on Naruto’s face. 

“Let me,” the boy said, and Kakashi let his lids flutter closed as he felt a warm hand on his eye, the burst of chakra big enough to bring forth a new life.  _ I love you _ , the energy seemed to whisper in his mind.

And when he opened his eyes again, the alarming red hue from his Sharingan melted away like snow in the spring sun, the morbid crimson finally giving way to the lively colors of the world around him. He blinked in astonishment, looking around, taking all of it in. He was stunned into silence, but the laugh that left his lips at the explosion of colors has been deemed enough of a thank you. Naruto smiled as a blush crept up to his cheeks.

~

It felt different. 

The fire in his heart turned into a raging blaze, ready to destroy everything in its wake. The only thought that managed to calm it down a bit, and give Kakashi a chance of some rest from his burning heartache was the thought that maybe, just maybe, Naruto loved him back. 

They were sitting on top of the Hokage tower, millions of stars looking at them with amusement glowing in their silver eyes. The breeze was humming a soft melody, a cheerful tune as it gently blew around them. There was a comfortable silence between them, filled with words that didn’t need to be spoken; both of them knew what they would be, anyway. Out of the corner of his eye, the now Hokage caught a glimpse of sky blue eyes drilling into him. And as he continued to look up at the silver-embroidered wasteland of the sky, he felt a hand brush against his own.

Before he knew it, their fingers were intertwined, and out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw the furious flush on Naruto’s cheeks as the boy followed his Hokage’s line of sight. 

The way the blond’s jaw dropped in surprise upon feeling the older man giving his palm a small, reassuring squeeze was priceless. 

Somehow, though it seemed impossible, his blush deepened, and his head whipped to face the other’s, who was still looking at the stars, unbothered. 

There was some spluttering, something that was probably meant to be coherent words but ended up nothing more than a fusion of  _ Is _ and  _ yous  _ and  _ whats _ .

Kakashi chuckled and offered Naruto his most sincere smile as he brought the tan palm to his lips, leaving a clothed kiss on the knuckles. 

There was no need for words. It seemed to sing between them, in the weirdly pleasant tension and in the wind. 

“I love you," the Hokage said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I love you so much I feel my heart could burst.”

Naruto giggled, an excited and giddy sound before he shook his head in an attempt to regain some composure. What an adorable man he was. 

“I love you too, Kakashi-sensei,” he said, his voice not nearly as quiet as the other’s, but not quite as loud as usual. “I’ve loved you since day one.”

“I know,” Kakashi replied. “I was pretty sure you’d grow out of it, though.”

Naruto scoffed and opened his mouth to say something. Kakashi smirked and pulled off his mask in a swift motion and before the other could as much as utter a word there was a pair of lips silencing him. 

The blond froze, but not a split second passed before he was kissing back, eager and hungry but gentle all the same. Kakashi cupped the boy’s cheeks, softly stroking his cheekbones as Naruto put his hands on the older man’s waist, clutching the fabric of his shirt like his life depended on it. It was slow and long and languid, their lips moved in perfect harmony as the universe seemed to sing around them. 

When they pulled away, both of them gasping for air, their foreheads touching and breath mixing between them, he smiled.

“You’re gorgeous,” he heard Naruto whisper. 

And as Kakashi connected their lips in a kiss once again, there was a flash before his eyes, a series of images of all the times the boy had said  _ I love you _ before. 

He smiled into the kiss. Naruto must’ve realized what the Hokage was thinking about as a moment after, he did the same. 

Maybe Kakashi was not particularly affectionate. But nothing says  _ I love you _ better than  _ this _ . 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
